The strategy room feels different when I step into it, and not louder and not sharper and not fractured, and it feels settled in a way that tells me reacting is not enough anymore and waiting is not winning.
The map is already laid out, and the lines of patrol and pressure stretch across it in ways that do not make sense anymore, and Ezra stands at the center with Declan and Cameron on either side, and no one is speaking when I walk in. That is new.
No one is arguing, no one is guessing, and they are waiting for direction. I move to the table and let my hands rest against the edge, and I do not look at Ezra first and I do not wait for him to speak, and I let the silence hold for a second longer before I break it.
“We stop reacting.” I say.
Ezra’s gaze shifts to me immediately, and Decl
